'We got to think outside the box to get this done'

Another woman murdered, another "domestic-related" situation. Today's victim is Rachel Curtis, age 31 and the mother of five children,* dead from "undisclosed trauma" in the 2600 block of Wegworth Lane.


From City Paper contributing photographer J.M. Giordano:
All this year, I'll be teaming up with the Nether Bmore on a year-long project. The Cost is a series of portraits of those affected by the city's homicide rate. I'll be taking formal portraits of families of the victims while Nether will bring his amazing style of street art to portraits of the victims. Memorials that, space allowing, will be pasted at or near the scene of the crime. If ANYONE knows a family who in 2013 has been affected by the city's murder rate, PLEASE put them in touch with me. I can be reached at jmgiordano2006@gmail.com.


Well, here's some shit: officer Kendell Richburg pleaded to charges on Monday related to planting drugs and guns on people, setting victims up and claiming in court that he witnessed transactions he didn't* while he was part of the VCIS (Violent Crimes Impact Section, now renamed the "Zone Enforcement Section") Perhaps the strangest part, Richburg apparently did it not for monetary gain but to impress higher-ups in the BPD. Claimed Richburg's lawyer Warren Brown,* "the majority of Richburg's contacts with the informant were about making low-level drug arrests, and that such arrests are a big part of the Police Department's enforcement strategy. 'The department will deny that they have quotas, but they do,' Brown said. 'They grab these guys with one bag of weed, and the quality of the arrest is never scrutinized.'"

It's been almost nine years* since the triple child murder at the Fallstaff apartments, and after all these years the motive has remained a mystery. Finally at the third trial, the mother of two of the decapitated children, Noemi Quezada, has testified to a possible motive: the fury of Guadalupe Hernandez over her husband Victor's romantic interests in her niece, Espejo Quezada, who lived with Noemi and her children with her son, Alexis,* who was also killed. Hernandez is in a Mexican prison for trying to have Victor killed in 2009.

Meet the K-Mart disturber, Clifton Duncan Jr. No word on what he did that was so disturbing.

Ian Baron: Honduran by birth, Jewish by adoption, anti-Semetic hate crime convict because alcohol?

Khakis were sullied

One Clifton Rodney Duncan Jr. caused a "disturbance" at the Rosedale K-Mart, then broke into a house, then barricaded himself at Winner Distributing and was taken into custody at about 7 p.m.

Rodney Pridget,
photo Tweeted by Fenton

More than two years after Rodney Pridget was murdered outside of Towson Town Center in what evidence indicates was a Black Guerrilla Family-ordered hit, the accused triggerman and final, youngest defendant, Tyrone Brown, was found guilty.

A water bottle was hurled, khakis were sullied, major defense lawyer Ivan Bates was retained and now Bernstein's Major Investigations Unit is now poring through the nuances of the case of two financial analysts and a venture capitalist who got into a Harbor East slugfest.*

@justin_fenton have you heard anything about the ridiculous amount of car break ins that have been happening by Riverside Park in S. Bmore?
— Steve Beck (@stevembeck) March 12, 2013

Sweet, sweet romance: John Leopold's girlfriend Jane Miller-- not to be confused with the girlfriend who subjected him to oral sodomy in the bowling alley parking lot, or the gimlet-eyed reporter-- testified at his sentencing down in AAC yesterday that Leopold is "remorseful and contrite" and that he referred to his taxpayer-funded pee-bag-dumping employee as "Dr. Patti."

Erin Thorne

More dirty from AAC: a 28-year-old teacher Erin Nicole Thorne is facing serious trouble following allegations from an 18-year-old student that she sent him sexts, texts and "obscene matter" and "engaged in sexual activity" with him after he turned 18 but while he was still a student at Broadneck High.

Nicholas Vargas, 24, of the Windsor Mill area drove up to Pottsville, PA, punched a man in the face at the Coney Island restaurant.

Ten years is a long time to go away for "criminal threats," no?

Damn, Dundalk, $1.5 million worth of counterfeit goods at the flea market*? (But is that the goods' actual value, or what it would have been if the goods were really the brand they were supposed to be?)

So the nefarious Koch brothers reportedly aspire to buy the Tribune-- the newspaper group or the whole sorry mess. But only if baby-eating dingo Rupert Murdoch or cracker-faced capitalist Lee Mitchell lose their bids.

Finally, have a sobering .gif in which you can watch Baltimore's middle-class neighborhoods disappear. 

Gunning

The death of Henry Mills in 2011 was to avenge the death of fellow Black Guerilla Family member Naim King in 2007, reports Justin George,* which led to an unusual conviction under the state's gang statute.

Brandon Mitchell

How did 18-year-old Brandon Kyle Mitchell get bail for a first-degree murder charge*? TWICE*? Shrug. He's now been convicted of the murder of 16-year-old Omar Johnson, a bystander who was watching a fight (presumably between Mitchell and someone else). Oh well, no harm no foul and all's well that ends well, right?

Baltimore police are investigating apparent homicide of unknown man at 600 S Fulton Ave. this morning. No details yet.
— Justin George (@justingeorge) March 8, 2013

Body found this morning in 600 S Fulton was behind train car twitter.com/justin_fenton/…
— Justin Fenton (@justin_fenton) March 8, 2013

4:20 is coming 2 1/3 hours early today: HB 302, aka the Maryland Medical Marijuana Act, is set to be read today, along with two other medical marijuana bills. The bill would let the state's "Academic Medical Centers" distribute the pot in town. Curt Anderson's full frontal decriminalization bill is to be read March 19, And Bobby Zirkin's got a pot law too, making less than 10 grams a civil offense and fine of $100.

MD's gun clubs claim that they've sent a (literal) million emails to MD's legislators re. SB 281/HB 294 opposing the bill's new gun licensing and sales restrictions.

Three people shot Tuesday night.

What did the Hopkins Men's Lacrosse team do to deserve a benching?

That Baltimore white

Big sads! Anna Ditkoff, creator of the Murder Ink column, has been laid off from the City Paper. Posted she to Facebook:
Due to budget cuts, this week's Murder Ink column is the last I will write for City Paper (a staff member will cover homicides going forward). 
When I created Murder Ink in 2004, nearly 300 people were being murdered in Baltimore City every year, losing their lives to violence so commonplace that their deaths weren't consistently covered in the media. Over the last eight and a half years, Murder Ink chronicled 2,106 homicides and proved that Baltimoreans really do care about the people murdered on the streets of their city. I saw this concern in the researchers, community activists, journalists, victims' families, and readers who contacted me. I saw it in the music and art projects inspired by the column and in the people who sat for hours listening to Single Carrot Theatre's annual Murder Ink reading.
Writing Murder Ink has often been heartbreaking. There are victims I will never forget—some because of the horror of their deaths and some because of the tragically mundane events that sparked them. Still, I am saddened to leave it behind. Making sure every homicide in Baltimore is marked is a mission that I continue to believe in. It's been an honor to report on this difficult issue for City Paper's readers.

Big happy-- happy investiture to my former classmate who's now a real Baltimore city circuit court judge: Judge Julie R. Rubin.

...

Cham lists last weekend's six murder victims

Police are trying to identify the woman at right, found in the Inner Harbor.

Jermaine Miller, 29, got 134 months in federal prison for slinging that Baltimore white.

Baltimore Shake n Bake

WMAR says five, the Sun says six murders this past weekend,* which has got to be close to some kind of record.

So even though the vast majority of Marylanders support the basic provisions of the bill, last Friday protestors against the Firearm Safety bill way outnumbered people who showed up to support the bill, now passed by the senate and moving on to the house as HB 294. The bill doesn't take anyone's guns away, specifies the right to carry between a residences and places of business and gives gun buyers until October 2013 to buy all of the assault weapons they can. New provisions include fingerprinting for licenses, keeping the previously forcibly committed from buying, letting police officers examine gun-shop sales records-- I guess before only the ATF could do that. Anyway, if you have an opinion on this bill, especially if you are from Baltimore city, a demographic markedly missing from Friday's protests, it would behoove you to contact your elected officials to offer your opinion.

Friends, hundreds of bystanders and cameras everywhere, yet no one who was on the Ravens' parade route will step forward to ID 15-year-old De'ontae Smith's killer.*

Life + 35 for Anthony Cole, who shot at this wife but killed a bystander instead.

WTF? In the county one Charles V. Palmer is charged with stabbing his 14-year-old son in the neck.*

Family of LaRelle Amos are still ISO answers about who shot her.

A Dateline-worthy mystery in Kent County: what happened to Robin Pope?

Police won't stop talking about "shake and bake" on scanner. What the hell does that mean? @justin_fenton
— Scott Dance (@ssdance) March 3, 2013

Perhaps this?

Wild times at Kitty's

A sheriff's deputy was injured this morning after a gun "went off" inside the Juvenile Justice Center.

Police identify pair fatally shot on Sunday night in 1700 block Montpelier; Maurice Barfield; 33; and Shantese Evans, 26
— Justin Fenton (@justin_fenton) February 28, 2013

That gun control amendment passed the Senate, mega-rallies are planned for A-town. Fingerprinting gun owners! Barring the mentally ill! Letting cops check gun-store records! The very nerve and gall!

Speaking of crazy people, Joshua Caesar, blinded in a barbed-wire-wrapped baseball-bat attack by cannibal coed Alexander Kinuya, is suing Morgan State U. for not doing enough* to protect the public.

How crappy were Robbert Gladden's parents? Aside from having unsecured weapons around, the teen told a detective he's had suicidal thoughts since the 4th grade, but apparently no one in his family noticed and/or did anything to try to get him help.


Aiieee creepy Dundalk child porn guy!! A million dollar bail for one child-porn charge?

Softest kitties, sharpest claws-- bar patrons at Kitty's Lounge successfully disarmed a knife-wielding man.

A source says that the mayoral candidate murdered in Mississippi, Marco McMillian, was president of the board of Pigtown Main Street (NYT link). Twenty-two year old Lawrence Reed has been charged with his murder.

Lies, sit-ups and refreshments

A cop in a federal drug case was caught lying, and Jayne Miller is wondering why lying cops are still working cases.

Today in Dr. Levy news, lawyers are demanding to know why his pen-camera wasn't discovered earlier,* and say previous patients stopped seeing him because of a lack of a "chaperone" in the room. FHBIII has now been called back from retirement to help on the case. (non-Sun link) ... if you're looking for a good ladydoctor, I can't say enough nice things about this practice.

A total of 12 officers have now been charged by the feds in the case of the beating of Kenneth Davis at Roxbury.

That gun-control bill is going up for a vote in the Senate today.

City officials are working out a deal to hold Brekford, the vendor of the new speed cameras, accountable for mistakes, but won't tell anyone just how they'll be doing that.

Whistleleaker Bradley Manning is set to give a statement today on why he passed info along to Wikileaks.

So the officer candidate who was shot in the head has been named, and he's 43. They take 40-somethings? Really? I guess they do. Searching around the only requirements appear to be that you're at least 20 and meet some rather underwhelming physical requirements (29 sit-ups in a minute? Sheeit, I hope so!)

Speaking of the BPD, couple of events:
Baltimore Police Community Ride-Along and Open House:
Friday, March 1st from 2:00-10:00pm @ Northern District Station
2201 West Coldspring Lane

Ever wanted to ride along with a police officer, observe first hand the work officers do on a daily basis? Then this is your chance. On Friday March 1st the Northern District will be hosting a community ride-along and open house. Participants will be paired with an officer and will patrol with them for several hours of their shift. Afterward refreshments will be served and participants will have the option to attend several presentations and a station house tour.

Those wishing to participate in the ride along are requested to be at the Northern District Station between 2:00pm and 2:20pm . The ride –along will continue until 6:00pm when refreshments will be served. The open house will continue until 10:pm. Participants need not participate in both segments of the event.

Reservations are requested to participate in the ride-along portion RSVP by calling 410-367-8491 ( If you leave a message with your name and Phone Number a slot will be reserved. You may also RSVP via E-mail at Ronaldo.Moralesjr@Baltimorepolice.org

Coffee with a Cop: Saturday, March 2nd at McDonald’s at 29th and Greenmount  9 a.m. to Noon Coffee Provided by McDonald’s

Join Northern District Police Officers for a Coffee Break: Meet and Great them, tell them what you think, find out about the challenges they face every day on the job, or just get to know them over a cup of coffee.

16 slices of pie

The Ink details last week's seven murders, plus case updates.

Student-on-teacher assaults are on the rise.

Have you seen this suspect wanted for the robbery of two staff members inside Mercy Hospital*? I have, he tried to break into my office while I was in it this summer. I remember that exaggerated "poor me" expression very well. But like a dumbass, instead of calling the cops I asked him "can I help you?" and he made some lame excuse about looking for a bicycle part and then hoofed it out of there. Therefore this robbery is entirely my fault.

"Alleged fast-food burglar caught napping on the job after 16 slices of pie"

Today in Dr. Nikita Levy news: the clinic where he worked had limited oversight,* and he was busted because an employee raised her suspicions about his pen camera. And this OpEd is pissing me off: "Predatory physician case shows by patients must be vigilant.*" Oh, STFU -- it's now the patients' fault for not being vigilant enough? There was someone else in the room for his exams. She was the one who busted him. There was nothing in his background for a background check to turn up. What would an audit have done? "Predatory physician case shows that physicians should not be predators," TFTFY.

Tragic: woman in Reisterstown killed by suicidal driver.*

Oh, Todd Huff. The phone calls he made to the County chief of police are now on the internets.

Berger's cookies is back in the baking business,* but peeling paint? Cigarette smoking in the bakery? Those cookies now sounding not-so-tasty.

I'm thinking someone found out my Spectator sympathy has waned.

Dine dine dash, fap fap knife

Life sentence for James Sweeny,* a former Locust Point resident turned head of Dead Man Inc, who admitted he ordered hits to help raise money for the gang.

Maryland's top court "has eliminated the $1 billion award of punitive damages to Baltimore County residents stemming from a massive 2006 gasoline leak in Jacksonville, and wiped out or ordered new trials on much of the $650 million in compensatory damages as well." WTF? (TDR subscriber link)

The Supreme Court is taking up MD's warrantless-DNA-collection law today

The General Assembly will be taking up a bill that prohibits the shackling of inmates in labor.

A man was stabbed in the shoulder in lower Charles Village as he tried to flee a robbery.

Levy case: police say they've been contacted by more than 2,000 former patients.

Police have released new COMSAT data.

If you want to listen to the General Assembly argue about guns, have at it.

Dine-and-dash artist Andrew Palmer, 46, got 29 days and a year for his seizure-faking routine. He has been arrested more than 80 times.*

Southern district: pot growers busted, plants photographed

WBAL has released photos of Robert Gladden pulling out a rifle in the Perry Hall cafeteria. Gladden got 35 years yesterday.

Out in Towson a couple having sex in a parking garage caught a guy watching them and masturbating, he then chased them with a knife.

"A trip that started out for bird watching in Laurel ended with the discovery of a human skull." Other human remains were also found in Overlea.

In HarfCo a teacher's aide at Bel Air High school was charged with having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old student.

This is not a repost

Not a repost: For the second time in 3 days, a man and a woman were found fatally shot inside a car. This time in the 1700 block Montpelier
— Justin Fenton (@justin_fenton) February 25, 2013

The couple shot inside a car that was set on fire in Mondawmin were identified as Taewan Tuck, 34, and Alysia Strickland, 33. We have had 29 homicides so far this year. Cham notes that Strickland is the second white female to be murdered in the city this year.

Pre-trial evidence hearings for accused child-killers Policarpio Espinoza and Adan Canela are underway, and now both DNA evidence and the testimony of a key witness have been thrown out.* Here's the Sun's coverage of the Byzantine case, shorthanded as the "Fallson murders".

Both of the 13-year-old reported missing this weekend, Kaitlyn Benny and Kymira Martin, were found. Or Martin at least contacted her mother and updated her Facebook page. And 15-year-old Taleia Terry was also missing and found.

Meanwhile at JHU/Homewood campus, a girl got hit at a party, her guy friend jumped to defend her and lost three teeth.

Need a city lobbyist? Call Harris Jones & Malone,* who have reportedly repped 41 percent of companies fighting city hall.

Twelve years in jail for Rodney Hailey of Perry Hall, who sold renewable fuel credits he didn't own for bio-diesel he didn't make. Hailey was also ordered to pay $42,196,089.78 in restitution.

Three teenage boys were robbed near Towson Town Center, and the speed camera near Loch Raven and Cromwell Bridge Road was vandalized again (what it really needs is a bikini top, don't you think?).

So councilman Todd "don't you know who I am?!" Huff huffed a BAC of .20. More than twice the legal limit, sure, but to look on the bright side, only half of what killed Amy Winehouse. He's also given up his county car.

Heart failure at 31.

'Medical treatment'

Delegate Curt Anderson, D-43, has introduced a bill to make marijuana legal in Maryland and tax it like alcohol. So sensible you know it can't pass, but call your rep in the House anyway.

Well, that was quick. After about two days on the job, Joseph Smith -- the major, not to be confused with the prophet with Donny Osmond flair -- has resigned as police training director.

An American employee of the embassy of Malaysia was indicted for molesting his adopted daughter* in an unnamed city hotel room while she was here getting medical treatment.

Here come the Levy lawsuits.

County Councilman Todd Huff was charged with DUI in his county-owned Jeep Cherokee, and police are refusing to release his blood alcohol level to the public. This guy owns a business, he can't afford to buy his own car? Heh, he reportedly asked the officer, "don't you know who I am?"* Er.. Lindsay Lohan? UPDATE: the Sun got his BAC-- .20. Damn, son.

The Patch has all your boyfriends' mug shots.

.@baltimorepolice: M&T Bank at Johns Hopkins University (3003 N Charles) was robbed at 10 a.m. this morning
— Justin Fenton (@justin_fenton) February 23, 2013 

Non Fatal Shooting: 510 Winston Ave. Adult Male shot in leg. District Detectives Investigating
— Baltimore Police (@BaltimorePolice) February 23, 2013

Shooting: 900 block Bennette Pl. at 8:15PM, Adult Male shot multi times. District Dectectives Investigating
— Baltimore Police (@BaltimorePolice) February 22, 2013

And two other shootings, on York Road and George Street, respectively

As you probably already heard, Berger's cookies was shut down for not paying a $500 licensing fee, probably because the owner, Charles DeBaufre, is in intensive care. But while on the subject, why are health department code violations not public? (or am I just incompetent at finding them?)

Ugh, animal hoarders.

Ugh, Vegas developers.

Beans, beer, pervs, ammo

Cause of death for dirty doc Nikita Levy: helium overdose.* (non-Sun link)

Sixty-five years for Richard Charles, convicted of raping his girlfriend's daughter.*

Female victim of the murder-suicide in Pen Lucy was ID'd as Candace Baird;* her killer husband she worked as a conflict mediator and probation agent.

A man was stabbed and robbed in the 22 block of South Broadway, a bar on Fleet Street was held up for patrons' cash, the contents of the register and two Red Bulls.

John Andrew Blaes

Twenty-seven years for underage-bondage pornographer John Andrew Blaes of Parkville.

Robert Hubbard went to the cupboard to fetch himself some ammo; the ammo was there but a snitch was aware so he got 15 years in the slammo.

The House unanimously passed a bill that would reverse the ruling deeming pit bulls an "inherently dangerous" breed.

Senators are giving constituents lip service to their speed camera objections, the Death Penalty ban is expected to pass the  Judicial Proceedings Committee and the gov's gun-control proposal is up for a vote today.

Jean Brown of Jamaica was convicted in federal court for her racketeering role in the Brown Organization, a vicious pot-smuggling syndicate.

Anastasia Olouch, who was accused of elder abuse and then fled to Kenya, pleaded guilty today and was sentenced to six years in prison.

Hermes makes sweaters?

Steve Pearson, 57 and assaulted last December in Pikesville, is still in a coma.

A 91-year-old man and his 42-year-old passenger are accused of buying drugs in Baltimore and driving them to West Virginia.

The Department of the Environment is cracking down on lead-paint-law violators.

Baltimorean Eric Eugene Walker, 27, was shot to death in Lanham by a guy high on PCP.

Kathleen Machen

In Ocean City, Kathleen Machen, arrested two weeks ago for assaulting her fiance with beers and a can of beans, was arrested again, this time for slapping said fiance after he took the last can of beer.

'Praise God who has not made me a woman'

#24-- a probable murder/suicide involving a man and a woman on Frisby Street in Pen Lucy.* A small child was found at the scene, unharmed.

There were also two unrelated nonfatal shootings last night.

Baltimore Police Department

SHOOTING: 500 blk of E 38TH St. Northern District. Time: 10:26am. Adult male reported shot. Detectives investigating.

Case updates and last week's murder are chronicled in the Ink.

Blagh! Blargh! Blergh! Bleck! New details are emerging about the deceased pervy Hopkins gynecologist Dr. Nikita Levy, and gird ya loins girlfriends, because they are foul. The Sun is reporting that he used a hidden spy camera inside a pen* (like this one) and multiple other recording devices planted around the room. WJZ is strongly suggesting in a weasel-words sort of way that he posted the recordings to the Internet, and that some videos were of underage girls. "Investigators have growing concerns and are checking to see if Dr. Levy may have recorded underage patients ... WJZ has learned gynecology fetish porn is all over the Internet." I'll just take your word for that, there, Mike Schuh. The Deuce reports one mom saved her daughter when her perv alarm went off: "That's a little weird, never seen a doctor so eager." Can Hopkins be held liable for his actions? Considering he had more than 1000 patients, local attorneys are salivating at the possibility and are eager to give press quotes to anyone who'll listen.  (I wonder how he was found out. Did someone borrow his pen?)

Remember when a 13-year-old girl was dragged into a vacant house and raped on N. Caroline Street? Her attacker, Alvin Ray Wright Sr., was convicted based on DNA evidence and faces life in prison,* WBAL reports six life terms.  Which probably means he'll get 15 years, amirite? We'll find out May 15.

Oo, another delicious Van Smith feature: the life and times of local cocaine dealer Richie Rich (nee Richard Anthony Wilford), who may be set free because of the illegal use of warrantless "slap on" GPS devices to track his dealings. That Tom Chalkey illustration gets A+ (and probably a peevish letter from Harvey Comics).

Out in Frederick County, WTF and outrage after a man with Down syndrome died while police tried to remove him from a movie theater.

Down in Germantown anti-family-planning protestors are making hay after a 29-year-old woman died from a late-term abortion early this month. The deceased was a Catholic and her child was apparently much wanted, but found to have serious abnormalities. How activists got her name, photos and personal medical information is a mystery.

No sex at the wildlife expo

Homicide #23: a 47-year-old man shot in the 4300 of Adelle Terrace in Irvington*

A man is dead after a triple shooting at a bus stop in Middle River

Trial starts today for Jason Scott, who the Deuce deems a "criminal mastermind." 

Perry Hall shooter Robert Gladden Jr. pleaded guilty today to attempted first-degree murder.*

Batts pledges to review the BPD's use of weapons.* Whatever. Since it's unlikely the public will ever be allowed to see the results of the review-- given not even a federal judge can compel the department to disclose its current procedures-- filing this under "hollow lip service to placate the pissed."
Fenton: "The agency-wide review of use of force would be a first, at least in the department's recent history. Officer-involved shootings have been on the decline since 2008 — 33 people were shot that year, but the number was cut to 21 in 2009, 10 in 2010, and 15 in 2012. City officers have shot six people so far this year, one of them fatally. But the number remains high — the New York Police Department, which has more than 10 times as many officers as Baltimore, shot 28 people in 2011."
Related: WaPo OpEd on building public trust states obvious

Johns Hopkins Medicine · 30,234 like this

18 hours ago · 

• On Feb. 4, 2013, after being alerted by an employee, Johns Hopkins security department initiated an investigation about concerns involving Nikita Levy, M.D. It was determined that Dr. Levy had been illegally photographing patients with his personal photographic and video equipment and storing those images electronically. Tragically, today we learned that Dr. Levy apparently has taken his own life.
  
  Any invasion of patient privacy is intolerable. Words cannot express how deeply sorry we are for any patient whose privacy may have been violated. We continue to work closely with the Baltimore Police Department and will assist them in any way possible.
  
  We have set up a call center for Dr. Levy’s patients and are also offering them counseling. The number is 855-546-3785.

  More from the WaPo. Yes, he was a gynecologist. Eugh. Can you imagine this happening to you and then being willing to go back to Hopkins for counseling? Thanks, but no thanks. And if you were a victim do you get to see your own pictures? So skeevy on so so many levels...

  
  

  A "flash mob" stole cell phones at the Sprint store at York & Belvedere roads

  
  

  Crime-scene cleanup company is accused of gouging customers

  
  

  "Assault Weapons in the Line of Fire" -- I see what you did there, JZ

  
  

  If you're planning to get extra sameach this Purim, note that the Northwest Citizens Patrol will drive your  drunk ass home for free (and anonymously).

  
  

  Fast times in AAC: one drug bust netted 87 ounces pot, guns, a grey-faced guy and two fat people,  another 5 grams, some crack and a guy with a neck tattoo. Also in AAC, man charged after having sex at wildlife expo.

Asylum and Training School for the Feeble Minded

"A Baltimore City Circuit Court jury convicted Eugene Emmett Bates for murdering a man in a vacant house, burning his body in attempt to destroy any evidence, and stealing his vehicle."

Eight shootings (1 fatal) in Baltimore over the past 14 days; last year, city averaged 22 every 2 weeks
— Justin Fenton (@justin_fenton) February 18, 2013

"Missteps in trainee shooting ran afoul of standards.*" Ya think? Among the "missteps," the director of the program didn't know that training was being done in an abandoned psychiatric hospital, the former Asylum and Training School for the Feeble Minded. With no supervisors, apparently. Batts is set to give the training instructors a verbal spanking* tomorrow, and a new director has been named, one Maj. Joseph Smith. And yet, even after being told by a federal judge that police training policies and procedures are public documents,* the BPD refuses to release them. So I imagine the verbal spanking will go like this: "here I am making a mad face and shaking my finger for the camera and giving lip service to accountability! Blah!"
... an aside, while neighboring states such as Virginia forcibly and routinely sterilized the "feeble minded" back in the 20's, Maryland never did this. Go Maryland! 

Senators have introduced a bill requiring gun owners to carry liability insurance.

On Friday night the BPD held a "tweetalong," where they Tweeted like sorority girls during a shift. Anyway, one of the (two) incidents was a suspected robbery at 300 Homeland Southway. Apparently a guy followed the victim home and then robbed her.

A tipster sent in another picture of Deonte Smith's stabber, unfortunately it is not much better than the other pictures.

One of the employees of Roland Park firefighter/pimp Jamar Simmons was a woman from South Dakota. If the graphic with the story is to believed, the pimps pimped their (underage) sex workers via Twitter as @BigCityDates. The account is still up, but the pictures of Cherrish, Bambi, Unique and the other #applebottom #freak(s) are not, though you can still find pictures of underage girls here. 

Adorable: city spends $585k to figure out how to save money*

Nine years for gun-toting felon Justin Harris, 28.

Baltimore guns showed up on the Bronx black market.

RoFo Robbers Caught!

Funeral was held yesterday for Jennifer Conyers, killed by a guy she met on a dating web site. According to Cham, of 22 murder victims so far this year, 15 have no violent criminal history.

(Alleged) RoFo robbers caught, finally! Check out that list of stores. Dayum. How they were caught and why it took so long police won't say, but Cham points out that they apparently did their research and carefully avoided stores near crime cameras. Naturally the trio-- Omar Sharif Hance, Willie James Vinson and Darrell Nathaniel Blackwell-- have plenty of priors. And yes, Omar Hance's middle name is Sharif-- apparently his mom had a ladyboner for swarthy guys. "Truly, for some men nothing is written unless they write it."

Some cojones: even after being told by a federal judge that police training policies and procedures are public documents,* the Police Department still refuses to release them to the public. .. as much as Aneglinos apparently despise the LAPD, it's actually considerably more transparent and responsive than Baltimore's police force, with a Board of Rights that includes officers and a civilian, has the power to recommend penalties and publishes a public record of its findings. We should all be so lucky.

Remember that Roland Park firefighter who was pimping on the side? (Or was he a pimp who did some firefighting on the side?) He and his partner were indicted. My favorite part of the story has to be the chalkboard with hooker rules and tips on it ("Just 10 minutes from downtown!"... "Ask about law enforcement!!)

Aiee-- 38-year-old Larry Horton was convicted for murdering 18-year-old Ryan Jackson with a hatchet in Towson.

Creepy: a Ray Rice impersonator set up a Facebook account to try to meet girls. Hopefully just for sex and not death by hatchet.

RJR is going after doctors and dentists who aren't paying back their student loans. Animals! 

The head, the heart and the senses

The Ink details last week's three murders; since last week one Aaron Knox was also shot to death in the 1100 block of North Stricker Street.

The BPD identified the police officer who accidentally shot a recruit in the head as William S. Kern. Five other staff members have also been suspended.

A man was stabbed in Fell's Point Tuesday night.

Charming Charlestownian floral designer faked heart attack, stole thousands

Charles Village crime watcher Steve Gewirtz reports that there's seemingly less crime in Charles Village than usual; Adam Bednar reports that residential burglaries are down but commercial robberies are way way up in the Northern.

And are you flipping kidding me, the RoFo has been robbed again.

Good news, HoCo mallgoers, they caught that big fat flasher.

Love in the Time of Cholera

Oh shiz. Two students are dead near the University of MD in College Park after a murder/suicide.

A custodian was attacked this morning at Gwynns Falls Elementary school.

A man was shot in the leg and jaw in the 1100 block of N. Stricker Street.

We've heard a lot of crazy here at the blog, but this takes the crazy cake. SRB wants to start charging a fee for trash pickup.* She also wants firefighters, who already make 25% less than their counterparts in surrounding areas (see right), work more than 42 hours a week. No details yet on the trash proposal, but if it means that payers are surrounded by the garbage and rats from their non-paying neighbors (while the house burns down), Baltimore, dude, baby, cookie, you know I love you, but I am outta here. I'll do a lot for love, but gotta draw the line at heaps of rotting garbage, rat orgies and plague.

Habitual drunk driver Thomas Green, who mowed down two Hopkins students, was taken into custody after trying to drive his car drunk twice while it was outfitted with an interlock device. Fox reports that Green has 18 points on his license (warning, link has audio).

Web site The Robing Room = Yelp for judges. Judge Themelis ("a gentleman") is at the top for the city, at the bottom (Retired) Judge John Glynn ("a crank"), Evelyn Cannon ("chemical imbalance") and Yvette Bryant ("a nasty person").

In case you're wondering, here's who has drones. All the federal agencies, of course, and in MD, Queen Anne's county.

File under amazing but true: NBC News tracked fatal shootings over the MLK Jr. weekend and neither Baltimore nor Chicago had any (Melissa Davis was stabbed to death, however).

A rare disbarment for Paul W. Gardner II, aka the lawyer who repped Snoop.*

This is brilliant. Not the easiest thing on the ears, but brilliant.